October 2019 NPD Sales Results
The U.S. video game sales results for October 2019 are in and at first glance the overall industry looks to have had a horrible month. However, as always with numbers and stats, the devil’s in the details. For the month total video game spending totaled $1.03 billion, down from $1.57 billion last year – a whopping 34% decline. That being said, last year was a bit of an anomaly thanks to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 releasing earlier in the month than this year’s iteration and Red Dead Redemption 2 coming out during that month as well. When you look at the historical trend, 2019’s October is the the second highest for an October this decade. That being said, software sales saw the biggest hit with $620 million this year versus $983 million last year (but still higher than 2015 – 2017).
The biggest sign that this generation is getting long in the tooth is the hardware sales, which only brought in $182 million – down from $307 million a year ago and the lowest of the past five years. With next-gen machines coming out in about a year and no real serious price cuts it’s no wonder customers aren’t biting. Switch is is the only exception, with Nintendo once again capturing the number 1 position for the month as well as for the year.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 managed to claim the #3 spot in overall software sales for October 2019. This is impressive because it launched on October 31, and also because Nintendo doesn’t report digital sales to the NPD. We do know it’s the best debut for any game in the series. Also a bit surprising is Ring Fit Adventure cracked the top 10. We knew it was selling well in Japan, but it appears to have captured some attention over here as well. The entire top 20 is below, courtesy of NPD and ResetEra:
Top 20 best-selling games of October in the U.S.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- The Outer Worlds
- Luigi’s Mansion 3*
- Madden NFL 20
- NBA 2K20
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
- WWE 2K20
- FIFA 20
- Borderlands 3
- Ring Fit Adventure
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening*
- Mario Kart 8*
- Minecraft#
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Overwatch
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Code Vein
- Red Dead Redemption II
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
* Digital sales not included
# Digital sales only include Xbox One and PlayStation 4
The 10 best-selling games of 2019 so far
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- NBA 2K20
- Madden NFL 20
- Borderlands 3
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
- Anthem
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Grand Theft Auto V
The 10 best-selling games of the last 12 months
- Red Dead Redemption II
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII
- NBA 2K20
- Madden NFL 20
- Borderlands 3
- Mortal Kombat 11
- NBA 2K19
- Battlefield V
Xbox One October 2019 Sales
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
- Madden NFL 20
- The Outer Worlds
- NBA 2K20
- Borderlands 3
- WWE 2K20
- FIFA 20
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Gears 5
PlayStation 4 October 2019 Sales
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- The Outer Worlds
- NBA 2K20
- Madden NFL 20
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
- WWE 2K20
- FIFA 20
- Borderlands 3
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Grand Theft Auto V
Nintendo Switch October 2019 Sales
- Luigi’s Mansion 3*
- Ring Fit Adventure
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening*
- Mario Kart 8*
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Overwatch
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt*
- Super Mario Maker 2*
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
Nintendo 3DS October 2019 Sales
- Pokemon: Ultra Sun*
- Pokemon: Ultra Moon*
- Mario Kart 7*
- Luigi’s Mansion*
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D*
- Super Mario 3D Land*
- Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon*
- Super Mario Maker*
- Super Smash Bros.*
- Minecraft*
[Source: ResetEra]
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
